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| Photos | Felicia D'Ambrosio |
On Friday, June 19, the Mink family's new-old Oyster House (1516 Sansom St., 215-567-7683) served more than 2,800 of their eponymous bivalves on the half-shell. A million more mollusks have met their end at the talented hands of Ameen Lawrence, a 10-year veteran of the Sansom Street restaurant under its prior owner who's stayed on, along with two other longtime shuckers.
Lawrence shared a few pro tricks to extracting the shy creatures from their shells, starting with obtaining the correct tool. A pointed oyster knife is the key to defeating the strong muscle that holds the upper and lower shells tightly closed.
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| Ameen Lawrence in his office |
Holding the oyster cup-side down on a kitchen towel, Lawrence finds the hinge that holds the two shells together, the critical pivot point where the knife is inserted. In one smooth motion, he applies 40 pound of pressure to breach that hinge, twists his wrist and levers the shell open. "You have to find that pivot point," he says. "All oysters are not the same ... you have to figure each type out, find out if the hinge is tight. Oysters have feelings, so you got to feel them."
Once the oyster is exposed, Lawrence gently cuts the muscle that attaches the oyster to its shell, and uses the tip of his knife to flick out pieces of broken shell and any dirt or particles of grit. He works quickly and gracefully, and spills not a drop of the flavorful liquor that bathes the creature inside its shell. When I admire his fast pace, the shucker quickly corrects my notion of speed.
"I don't want to do it fast," he says. "I want to do it to perfection. Fast is not good. You end up with shells, dirt in there. There's only one way to do it � the right way." He grins. "I like being the best."
Oyster (and clam) fanatics are well-served by Lawrence's work ethic. Each bivalve rests, pristine, in a bed of crushed ice, ready to be accented with classic mignonette, homemade cocktail sauce and lemons. Bargain-seekers should hit the weekday happy hour from 5 ro 7 p.m., when mildly briny East Point oysters from the Delaware Bay are just $1 each. Otherwise, a rotating variety, from the extravagantly fluted Royal Miyagi to the juicy Choptank Sweet, are priced individually, in dozens and half-dozens.
Working with a single food item for 10 years can have a devastating effect on an individual's enjoyment of said item. Do oysters hold their deluxe appeal for this shucker?
"I'm not crazy about them," says Lawrence. "The owners don't have to worry about me eating them."
After the jump, step-by-step photos of how to shuck an oyster. (Though Lawrence recommends leaving it to the professionals.)
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| Start with the oyster cup-side down, then turn it toward you to find the hinge insertion point. |
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| Insert the knife into the hinge and twist to lever open. |
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| Open the two shells and discard flat top shell. |
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| Sever the muscle that attaches the oyster to shell, then use the tip of the knife to flick out any particles of shell or grit. |
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